V - Relationship to the Adverse Party

[Colt Daniels]

V - Relationship to the Adverse Party

1. An attorney shall treat the adverse party in a considerate and objective way, trying to establish the conditions for the dispute to be solved as soon as possible and in the mutual interest of the parties.
2. An attorney shall not try to accomplish the foregoing requirements by using otherwise legal but inappropriate or harsh means.
3. An attorney shall not exploit the ignorance, error or intimidation of the adverse party, particularly if the party does not have a legal representative, in order to achieve unjust success for his or her own party.
4. If the adverse party is not careful, conciliatory, considerate and objective, the attorney may treat the adverse party firmly, especially when the absence of such a manner could damage the justified interests of his or her own client and encourage the adverse party to unscrupulousness and even greater unfounded resistance.
5. An attorney shall not come into any contact with the adverse party without the knowledge of the party's counsel or without the knowledge of his or her own client.
6. An attorney must discourage his or her client from criminal action against the adverse party for imprudent statements caused by a tense situation in the proceedings if such a suit is not necessary in order to meet the client's interest. The attorney himself or herself should, if possible, try to refrain from criminal actions against the adverse party for inappropriate or impolite statements about him or her that have been made out of nervousness.